


Dame Fantaisie

by word_traveller



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I promise, and a messed-up akuma, au kinda, but be prepared for long delays., canon divergence probably at some point, hence the lack of updates, i have this story entirely planned out tho, i'll try to keep posting when i can, many ships!, mwa ha ha, not an OC central fic tho, so it will happen eventually., sorry guys!!! :(, update: i just got a full time job, what do you mean you can't transform?!, yes there's an OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-20 04:11:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5991304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/word_traveller/pseuds/word_traveller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an Akuma-tizing goes wrong, not even Hawkmoth could predict what happens next.<br/>Chloé is up to her old habits again. Her latest victim? New girl Cassandra… Bourgeois?! That’s right, Chloé’s long-lost cousin has transferred schools for what feels like the millionth time, and Chloé is not pleased. She inevitably crosses the line and sends Cassy right into Hawkmoth’s not-so-comforting arms, but a small mistake in the Akuma-tizing process changes everything. In a land without Ladybug or Chat Noir, will Marinette and Adrien be able to save the day? Maybe, if they can get all their classmates to work together...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Worst First Day Ever (Pt. 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t worry, the fic is still predominantly Marinette/Adrien/Ladybug/Chat Noir/et all, the OC is only here to advance the plot. Honestly, this fandom has enough ships to overthrow a small island nation, I don't need to add any more. The POV will jump around a bit, though, because I like getting into peoples’ heads. *cheshire grin*  
> I should be updating once a week, but depending on how side-tracked I get and how excited I am for a chapter, who knows? I have an Adams-ian approach to deadlines: I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

Even after all her experience with new schools, Cassandra still hated first days with a burning passion. They wouldn’t be too bad if it weren’t for her infallible knack of picking the absolute worst people to befriend. Every new school she’d try to learn from her mistakes; if her previous school had really mean popular kids, she’d try to hang out with the misfits. If it had been the misfits who were assholes, Cassy would try to fit in to the popular group. But no matter what, by the second week she was sincerely regretting her decision.

She usually managed to fix her mistakes and make good friends, but every once in a while she’d had to live with her poor decision. Luckily for her, the few times that had happened, she hadn’t been in town long.

If it weren’t for that tiny detail, Cassy would actually enjoy her first day in a new school. It was exciting, meeting new people, getting to know the campus, hopefully finding the right classes. There were awkward moments, yes, and her stomach was one solid mass of butterflies with machine guns. And she absolutely hated that moment when the teacher would introduce her to the class, and she would be the center of attention. But it was usually such a relief to be out of the house that she didn’t mind all that much. Besides, the first day wouldn’t last forever, and after that she had new friends and a new city to look forward to!

And this time, she had an advantage. Cassy’s cousin went to the same school she was enrolling in, Collège Françoise Dupont. She and her cousin had been really close as children, before Cassy’s parents had decided to move away, taking the six-year-old with them. At first they’d seen each other on holidays, but eventually it became too hard to get everyone together. She hadn’t seen Chloé in years, and she wondered how the sweet little girl she remembered had turned out. To be honest, Cassy was still trying to wrap her head around _Maire_ Oncle Andy.

She hadn’t been able to catch up with Chloé in the three days she’d been in the city, but hopefully they’d have some classes together. Cassy was six months older, but they were in the same grade. So she’d have at least one friend in there!

If she’d been thinking clearly, Cassy would have emailed or texted Chloé to meet her before school, or asked to walk with her. But she was still feeling the after-effects of jetlag, so instead Cassy was thrown headfirst into her first day, completely oblivious to what she had in store.

 

Marinette was pulling her notebook and pencil out of her backpack when Alya prodded her in the side. Hard.

“Ouch!” She hissed, sitting up. Alya completely forgot to look apologetic as she gestured towards the front of the classroom with an enthusiasm that she usually saved for Ladybug sightings. Marinette looked, and immediately understood her friend’s excitement. They had a new girl!

She wasn’t looking at any of them, instead staring at her shoes, so Marinette couldn’t see her face very well. Her hair was mostly dark brown, but she had dyed her bangs bright aqua. The colour fell over her face until the girl tucked the strands behind her ear in a nervous tick. Once she did, her hand fell back to rest on a book she was cradling in front of her like a shield. Her clothes were nothing extraordinary; blue jeans and a graphic tee, with a loose grey cardigan. She had three rings on one hand, and two on the other, and she wore a multi-coloured beaded bracelet with many strands and am ordinary-looking watch.

The class grew silent as everyone noticed her standing awkwardly by the door. Even Chloe was uncharacteristically not speaking up. She just stared at the girl, her eyes narrowing slightly. The teacher, noticing the poor girl’s discomfort with being stared at by everyone in the class, rolled her eyes at her students.

“I see you’ve all noticed that we have a new addition to our class today. Why don’t you introduce yourself, and then you can sit down?” Mlle Bustier smiled kindly at the girl, who clutched her book tighter to her chest. She looked up briefly, with a sweet smile, and gave a small wave.

“Hi. I’m Cassandra Bourgeois.” Everyone in the class gasped, even Mlle Bustier. Marinette turned to stare at Chloé, who was purposefully examining her nails and refusing to look at anyone, then back to Cassandra. There was no way they were related. It had to be a coincidence.

The new girl frowned, puzzled, then went on. “I, ah, I just moved here three days ago from Montreal, in Canada.”

“Wait, so then you’re not related to Chloé?” Kim interrupted, totally confused.

“No, I am.” Cassandra nodded, looking once again at Chloé. No reaction. “We’re cousins.”

The classroom briefly erupted in disbelief and astonishment. How could such a timid, un-showy girl be in any way related to Miss Drama Queen Chloé? Marinette turned to Alya, who shared her look of disbelief. In front of her Adrien was telling Nino that he’d never heard Chloé mention a cousin.

Mlle Bustier cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Yes, well. Since you already know each other, Cassandra, you can sit with Chloé for today. Do you know when Sabrina will be back?” She turned to Chloé.

“Ugh, how should I know?” The girl replied. “She said something about an appointment or whatever. She’s been gone all morning.”

“Well, until she gets back, you can take her seat.” Mlle Bustier gestured towards the spot. Cassandra nodded, a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. Marinette could hardly believe it. The girl was _happy_ to be sitting with Chloé? “Now that all the excitement is over and done with, we can move on to today’s lesson.”

 

It had taken Cassy the better part of the morning to get through all the administrative paperwork required of new transfers. Mlle Bustier’s class was the last before lunch, and she only just made it there on time. She hadn’t been expecting such a mixed welcome, but she was glad that she had at least one class with Chloé. Although, her cousin had been acting strangely.

They didn’t talk much during class. Cassy was preoccupied with catching up on the lesson, and Chloé was preoccupied with her fingernails. Cassy didn’t know what the girl was looking for, but she obviously wasn’t happy about _something_.

_Maybe I should have texted her. Or maybe she’s worried about her friend._

At the end of class Cassy turned to finally talk to her cousin, but was interrupted by a swarm of her classmates. They began bombarding her with questions, asking about Canada and Chloé and a few other things that she didn’t catch. Two of the guys were peering into her face, looking for similarities in her appearance to Chloé, Cassy guessed. She could feel herself shrinking into herself under the barrage, and glanced at Chloé, hoping for some kind of rescue. But she wasn’t looking at Cassy, bent over to collect her bag.

 “Give her some space, guys!” A voice cut through the clamour, and the crowd parted to reveal a dark-haired girl with her hands on her hips, and her grinning friend. Cassy couldn’t tell who’d spoken, but she’d put her money on the one with the grin. She seemed like the more forceful personality out of the two. But, to her surprise, it was the dark-haired girl who stepped forwards.

“I’m Marinette, your class president. The two invading your personal space are Kim and Max.” Cassandra smiled gratefully at Marinette, as she continued naming their classmates.

“Hey, you forgot the most important person in the room!” Her friend complained, hip-bumping the girl. As Marinette laughed, Alya stuck her hand out to Cassandra. “I’m Alya, vice president and blogger extraordinaire!”

“I didn’t forget you!” Marinette protested. “I just figured that you’d prefer to do your own intro. And I was right.”

Alya poked her tongue out at Marinette, who responded in kind. Chloé made a strange sound, and shoved her way out of the crowd. Cassandra watched her go, torn between her cousin and the rest of the class. And then, she did what she always does; she made the wrong decision.

“I should probably go. I haven’t seen Chloé since we were kids! It was nice meeting you all!” As Cassy left, hurrying after her cousin, she missed the looks on everyone’s faces. If she’d looked behind her, she would have seen a mix of sudden comprehension and pity as everyone in the class realized that Cassandra had no idea what kind of person her cousin really was.

“Uh oh.” Nino said.

Alya summed it up perfectly. “Why do I get the feeling we’re going to be seeing an akuma before the day is out?”


	2. The Worst First Day Ever (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter title: The Reason My School Never Let Any Students Sit On The Roof, Or Fences, Or Trees, Or Anything Taller Than A 6 Year Old.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post another chapter until Friday or Saturday, but then AO3 told me that it was International Fanworks Day today. So, in honour of that, new chapter! So much for getting a head start on the story and staying ahead of the updates. *sigh*  
> Anyway, thanks for bearing with me! I promised at the beginning that this fic wouldn't be too OC-centered, and I like to keep my promises. Enjoy Cassy while she's around, because next chapter will have a whole lot less of her, and a whole lot more Marinette! (And Tikki, of course!)

“Hey, Chloé, wait up!” Cassy called after her cousin, who immediately stopped dead in her tracks. Cassy caught up quickly, surprised that the girl hadn’t turned around. Then she saw Chloé’s face. She looked ready to punch something.

“ _Don’t_ address me in public. Just because you and I know that we’re related does not mean that everyone else has to know. Ugh, how embarrassing.” Chloé stood with one hand on her hip, leering at Cassy.

“I… I’m sorry? I didn’t realize that it was a secret.” Cassy was extremely confused. She didn’t recognize anything about this mean girl. Where was her happy little cousin?

“It wouldn’t have mattered, if you weren’t so…” Here Chloé gestured at Cassy’s entire body, her lips curled in disgust. “Ugh. I don’t even have the words. And will you please put that stupid book away? Honestly, it’s like you never grew up.”

“I’d rather not grow up than turn into a bully, any day. What happened, Chloé? You’re nothing at all like I remember.” An overwhelming sadness threatened to squeeze tears out of Cassy’s eyes, but she stopped them through sheer force of will. No way was she crying on her first day of school.

“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you leave. Things change.” She tried to flounce away, but Cassy grabbed her arm.

“Is that what this is about? Chloé, I was six! I didn’t have a say in anything! I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. Please, can you at least try to be my friend again?”

“Let go of me!” Chloé raged, ripping her arm out of Cassy’s grasp. “You’re so pathetic! Why would I ever want to be friends with someone like you?”

Cassy’s entire body froze, and Chloé puffed up, glad to finally get a reaction out of the girl. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you some advice, free of charge.” She snatched the book out of Cassy’s limp fingers and held it up. “The ‘friends’ you made in your little fantasy aren’t real. You want to get a life? Then get rid of this thing.”

Cassy could only watch, numb, as Chloé ripped her beloved book into four pieces; front cover, back cover, and the two halves of the pages. Then she dropped everything on the floor and marched away.

 

Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien were chatting by the staircase as Cassy’s life was falling to pieces. Well, Alya, Nino and Adrien were chatting. Marinette was lost in thought, and this time Adrien wasn’t the only person on her mind.

“I hope Chloé doesn’t go too hard on the poor girl.” Alya said, and Marinette tuned back in to the conversation.

“I didn’t even know Chloé _had_ a cousin.” Adrien repeated. The entire affair seemed to have blindsided him.

“You know her best, dude.” Nino added, patting his friend on the shoulder. “If she didn’t tell you, she didn’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?” Alya wanted to know. “I mean, we all have embarrassing relatives, but that doesn’t mean we refuse to acknowledge their existence. They’re family, after all!”

“Cassandra didn’t seem embarrassing at all!” Marinette cried, her concern for the girl overriding her usual Adrien-induced fever.

“I know that, girl.” Alya put her hand on Marinette’s shoulder, knowing why her friend was concerned. “I just meant that even if Chloé _was_ embarrassed, there was no reason for her to act like she did. Although Cassandra didn’t look like she noticed.”

“Wow, speaking of…” Nino interrupted, pointing down the stairs. “She doesn’t look so good.”

Cassandra walked mutely past the shocked group. They were the only ones left in the school, but the girl didn’t seem to notice their existence. Her face was oddly blank of any emotions, her eyes staring blindly at the ground. She pressed her book so tightly to her chest that parts of her arms were white with a lack of circulation. A page fluttered out from the bottom of the book and landed on the ground, but she didn’t stop.

Marinette was frozen in shock, and by the time she broke through Cassandra had disappeared around the corner. She bent down and retrieved the paper, examining it closely. Her movement woke the others out of their own startled stupors, and they turned to see what Marinette had. When she realized what it was, her face fell.

“She wouldn’t…” Marinette breathed, passing the page to Alya. The blogger gasped angrily, and practically slapped the torn-out page against Nino’s chest. The boys quickly came to the same conclusion.

“That’s cold, even for Chloé.” Nino frowned.

“I’d better go make sure she’s alright. Why don’t you guys go look out for purple butterflies?” Marinette suggested, going into full class president mode, and her friends nodded. “Looks like you were right, Alya.”

Taking the page back from Nino, Marinette sprinted after Cassandra, headed for the roof.

Adrien made sure that Plagg knew he might be needed very soon.

And somewhere across town, light spilled into a large room, disturbing a flock of white butterflies.

 

The flight from Montreal to Paris had been long and boring, so Cassy had plenty of time to study the layout of her new school. So she knew exactly how to get to the roof of the building, so that she could be alone.

What she really wanted was a green place. Her old school hadn’t been in the middle of a major city; the field had backed onto a patch of forest. It hadn’t been a very big forest. In fact, it was hardly large enough to warrant the name. But whenever Cassy had felt overwhelmed with school or home, or if she just wanted to relax, she would walk into the patch of green and sit in the middle, pretending that all her problems were far away.

Paris did not have a patch of forest. It had a few gardens, but the ones that Cassy had seen were far too tame and well-manicured. There was nothing at all wild about the greenery of Paris.

So she settled for the next best thing; a rooftop.

Cassy sat on the edge of the roof and hugged her knees up to her chest. Her ruined book lay on the cement beside her, all four pieces. She couldn’t stand to look at it.

The worst part was, Chloé had recognized the book before she’d destroyed it. It had been a present, for Cassy’s fifth birthday. She hadn’t been able to read very well at the time, but her mother had read it to her and Chloé as a bedtime story. The Key to Rondo was a story about two cousins and their adventures in a magical land; that was why Chloé had picked it. She’d said, when Cassy had unwrapped her gift, that they could go on their own adventures, just like Mimi and Leo.

Cassy picked up the book, careful not to let any of the loose pages blow away in the wind. She tenderly removed the front cover, and read the messy writing on the first page.

_To the second-bestest cousin ever, from the bestest cousin ever. Happy Birthday! Love Chloé!!! <3_

Well, at least Chloé’s self-confidence hadn’t changed. A teardrop fell on the page, and Cassy hurriedly dabbed it off with her sleeve. But she never got a chance to cry her heart out; a strange purple butterfly approached her, heading straight for her book. It disappeared into a bubbling purple mass, taking over her book.

_Dame Fantaisie._ A voice spoke into her mind, and Cassy’s eyes widened in surprise. _You’ve been betrayed by your dear friend and cousin. I can help you to gain revenge, and together we can show people the true power of the imagination. But in return, you’ll have to do something for me._

 

Marinette burst onto the roof in time to see the purple butterfly get absorbed into Cassandra’s book. The outline of Hawkmoth’s symbol on the girl’s face glowed, casting her face into sharp relief. _Oh no, I’m too late!_

“Cassandra, no!” Marinette cried, racing towards her.

 

Cassy twisted at the sound of the shout, overwhelmed by the voice in her head and her now intact and darkly glowing book. She only caught a glimpse of a person before her foot slipped, and her stomach lurched in fear. She grabbed wildly at the ledge of the roof, but her own momentum pulled her even further over the edge. A scream tore its way out of her throat and she fell.

Marinette’s horrified face appeared on the roof above her, reaching helplessly down towards her.

The voice in her head gave a startled shout, and power spilled into Cassy’s body. She closed her eyes right before she hit the ground, wishing fervently to be _not here_ as her own terrified scream filled her ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Marinette was more confident here than she has been in the past, especially around Adrien. My justification is that she was way better at not freaking out when she was doing her class president bit towards the end of Darkblade (Le Chevalier Noir), even though Adrien was there. And then there's pretty much the entire episode of Kung Food, so there is a precedent for confident Marinette. Especially when she's worrying about someone else.


	3. Into The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette wakes up in a strange place, and comes face-to-face with a strange beast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to add another scene into this chapter, to make it progress a little better. But then I realized how well the ending sets up the next chapter, and I couldn't bring myself to rearrange the entire chapter to make it fit better. So, yeah. Kinda short chapter. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Enjoy!

Marinette blinked, her scream catching in her throat as her mind processed what she was seeing. There was no Cassandra, no rooftop, no Paris, even. What there _was_ …

She sat in a clearing, her back against a round trunk, surrounded by tall pines and patches of bushier greenery. The scents of the forest filled her nose, the cool air driving away the last of her drowsiness. Birds twittered to each other in the canopy overhead, and faint rustling sounds came from all directions. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting lazy shadows across the forest floor.

Then something huffed in Marinette’s ear, and she choked on a screech. She scrambled away from the creature on her hands and knees, turning to stare at the beast…

It was a horse. A large, chestnut mare with a black mane and tail, and a black star on its forehead. The horse snorted again, in frustration, and a voice spoke in Marinette’s mind.

“Relax, silly. It’s only me!” She knew that voice!

“Tikki?!” Marinette cried out loud, standing and walking over to her kwami. “What happened to you?”

“I don’t know, Marinette. I was in your purse, and then I was here. What happened with Cassandra? Did you get to her in time?”

Marinette thought back to the rooftop. It felt like mere moments ago. Actually, it probably was.

“I don’t think so. I saw the akuma fly into her book, and the outline of Hawkmoth’s symbol, so I thought I was too late. But I never saw her transform fully into an akumatized villain. I tried to get her attention, but all I ended up doing was startling her so badly that she fell off the roof!”

“Oh no!” Tikki cried. “Poor girl! But, wait. If we’re here, then she has to have survived right? Otherwise what brought us here?”

Marinette’s spirits immediately lifted at her friend’s sound logic. “Maybe Hawkmoth gave her the power to do… this, whatever it is, before she hit the ground! I didn’t kill her!”

Tikki was about to protest that last part, because even if Cassandra had fallen it wasn’t Marinette’s fault, it was an accident! But the girl ploughed on before she had the chance.

“But, wait. What happens when everything goes back to normal? Will she still be falling? Tikki, what if the miraculous cure doesn’t help her?!”

Tikki could sense a full-out Marinette panic building up, so she quickly interrupted. “Relax, Marinette. Cassandra will go back to how she was before the akuma came, which was safely on the roof. Teleporting akumas are rare, but they have happened before. Although, usually they have to spend some time building their fantasy world before they can transport themselves and other people there.”

“Oh. Okay.” Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t have to choose between Cassandra and whoever else was trapped here.

“Don’t be too happy yet, Marinette. While we’re here, I’m stuck in this shape.” Tikki the horse snorted in frustration.

“You mean, you can’t transform me?” Marinette asked, panicking again. “Then how are we supposed to defeat the akuma?”

“Once you release the akuma from Cassandra’s storybook, we should be released from this world and taken back to our own. Then we can cleanse the butterfly as Ladybug!” Tikki’s determined optimism lifted Marinette’s spirits, and she straightened.

“Right! First things first, we have to find Cassandra.” She took another look at the forest around her, and frowned. “Or anyone, for that matter.”

As soon as she thought about it, though, Marinette suddenly remembered exactly where she was. It was a strange sensation, as memories of a whole other life flooded through her mind. An entire backstory, running parallel to her real life.

“Wow. Did you get that too, Tikki?” Marinette leaned against her friend as she came back to herself.

“I did, Sir Marinette!” Tikki teased.

Marinette in this world was a knight. The best knight, the Champion of the Realm, purveyor of justice and honour, defender of the people. She could remember countless battles fought and won, disputes settled peacefully, and hours upon hours of weapons practice and riding lessons. She became suddenly aware of the sword at her hip, the hidden daggers in her boots and at her waist, and the bow lying unstrung on Tikki’s back. And of the paper note burning a hole in her pocket. She pulled it out and read it out loud for Tikki’s benefit.

“ ’You are hereby summoned to the Golden Palace by His Majesty King Andre Bourgeois and Her Highness Princess Chloé to take part in a vital quest for the safety of the Kingdom. Make haste! We are all in terrible danger!’ Well. I guess we know where we should go next.”

“To the palace!” Tikki whinnied her excitement as Marinette mounted up, then set off at a lively canter.

 

The palace was three days ride to the north, according to Marinette’s newfound memories. Even though she could ‘remember’ countless nights spent camping with Tikki under the stars, Marinette didn’t want to push her luck with wild animals or worse. Just because she remembered how to use a sword, didn’t mean she was actually still capable. What she wouldn’t give to have her trusty yo-yo with her!

Luckily for her dignity, Marinette and Tikki reached a small town just before nightfall. The local innkeeper was all too glad to be accommodating a famous knight, and gave the girl his best room. Marinette didn’t recognize anyone in the bar underneath the inn, and Tikki told her that these people weren’t from Paris. That was a relief, because she did not want to be facing an akuma powerful enough to teleport an entire city into a fantasy world.

Especially not without her powers as Ladybug, or Chat Noir.

There was a thought. Hawkmoth wanted their akumas more than anything, so did he try to pull Chat Noir from wherever he was at the time as well? Was he trapped in the universe somewhere? Looking around her at the awestruck faces of the inn patrons, Marinette hoped that he was having a better time of it than she was.


End file.
